St. Martinville Louisiana

St. Martinville Louisiana Travel, Tourist Information, Hotels, Things to Do

Acadian House Museum, Longfellow-Evangeline State Park

St. Martinville is located in extreme south Louisiana, in the heart of Cajun Country and Acadiana, and situated roughly between New Iberia and Lafayette. It is the parish seat of St. Martin Parish and has a population of about 7,000 residents.

It is located on the banks of the historic Bayou Teche, and the home of Longfellow-Evangeline State Park. In St. Martinville is the Evangeline Oak made famous in Longfellow's poem.

History of Saint Martinville, Louisiana

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1847 epic poem Evangeline made people around the world more aware of the 1755 expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia and their subsequent arrival in Louisiana.

Before Europeans and Africans settled along Bayou Teche in present-day St. Martinville, Native Americans had long hunted in this area, including the Attakapas and the Chitimacha.

Long before roads, Bayou Teche was a 100 mile long highway, and later was an important factor in the development of St. Martinville. In the mid-1750s, Louisiana's French rulers made land available in the Attakapas District for the raising of cattle to supply meat for New Orleans.

Swamp Tours in the St. Martinville Area

One of the most popular things to do in Louisiana is touring the swamps! Most tours are concentrated in South Louisiana.

The area between Lafayette and Baton Rouge offers a number of swamp tours, operating from communities such as Breaux Bridge, Henderson, St. Martinvile and Plaquemine.

Shown below are scenes from St. Martinville as seen in historic postcards from the Louisiana Destinations Collection.

U.S. Post Office

St. Martinville, Louisiana

Historic St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church

St. Martinville, Louisiana

Evangeline Oak

St. Martinville, Louisiana

Longfellow-Evangeline State Park and St. Martinville, LA

Mini color postcard collection

(See excerpts below)

Evangeline Monument

St. Martinville, Louisiana

Posed by Dolores del Rio, the actress who played Evangeline in the motion picture. The statue marks the grave of Emmeline Labiche who tradition claims was the prototpe of Longfellow's heroine.

St. Martin Church

St. Martinville, Louisiana

The church was erected in 1765. Here was not only a spirtual shelter, but a retreat from actual danger from Indians who roamed the woods and marshes. At the side of the church is the Evangeline Monument, marking the grave of Emmeline Labiche.

Acadian House Museum, Longfellow-Evangeline State Park

St. Martinville, Louisiana

This delightful old home contains many priceless items of great antiquity. Like most residences of the period, the house was erected without nails. Its hand-hewn cypress timbers are fastened throughout with wooden pegs.

The Evangeline Oak

St. Martinville, Louisiana

Here tradition says Evangeline met her Gabriel, after years of searching to find the lover from whom she was separated when the Acadians were driven from their home and farms in Nova Scotia.

Bayou Teche

St. Martinville, Louisiana

The word "Teche" means snake in American Indian language. This beautiful bayou winds through the heart of St. Martinville.